To Know Him and Make Him Known

Sermons by Pastor Toby Locke

I joined the staff as lead pastor at First Baptist in March 2017 after nine years of ministry in Racine, Wisconsin as an associate pastor.  I grew up as the child of missionaries in South America, where I got to live among and learn from the beautiful people of Bolivia and Chile.  After high school I attended Baptist Bible College of PA (now Clarks Summit University) and graduated at long last in 1998 with a Pastoral Ministries degree.  After completing a two-year short term missionary assignment in Chile, I returned to Baptist Bible Seminary for my Master of Divinity, which God graciously enabled me to complete in 2007.  From there it was off to Rochester, New York for a year-long internship at North Baptist Church (now Northridge Church) before jumping into full-time vocational ministry at Fellowship Baptist Church in Racine in the fall of 2007.

Worldiness, Defeated

James has warned us of the dangers of making friends with the world and allowing it to shape our values and standards, now he turns to a path of life that we must choose if we want to defeat those instincts.  Join us this morning as we explore the first (and possibly most foundational) step…

Abraham, The Faith Pioneer

Abraham is a seminal figure in the biblical story. When presented with the gracious invitation of God to a life of blessing and significance, he responded with confidence in God’s Word and then put his money where his mouth was. Throughout a lifetime of learning, God exposed his flaws and then transformed him through a…

Watch Your Mouth!

James warns us to “watch our mouths” because he knows that how we use our words will determine whether or not we are spiritual failures or successes.  Join us this morning as we try to understand why our words are important and what we can do about them. 

A Package Deal

Sometimes we think a word means something that it really doesn’t upon further investigation. This is very common with the bible word “faith.” Join us this morning as we explore, with James’s help, what kind of faith will actually get God’s stamp of approval as “authentic faith.”

Learning To Appreciate The Law

Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate God’s Law, especially when it points out your flaws and makes you feel guilty.  Those of us who follow Jesus, though, can learn to appreciate it for its many virtues.  Join us this morning as we try to understand, with James’s help, why we should learn to appreciate God’s Law.